Two of the most high-profile union-flag demonstrators appeared in court in Northern Ireland on Saturday charged with a series of offences linked to the recent loyalist protests.

Jamie Bryson, 23, was refused bail at Belfast magistrates court, while Jim Dowson, 48, was granted bail on strict conditions. Bryson is charged with two counts of encouraging or assisting offenders and four counts of taking part in an unnotified public procession. Dowson, a former BNP fundraiser originally from Scotland but now living in Comber, Co Down, is charged with encouraging or assisting offenders and five counts of taking part in an unnotified public procession.

The protests have been continuing since last December when Belfast city council voted to limit the number of days the flag flew over City Hall. Earlier demonstrations descended into violence, particularly in east Belfast, with about 140 police officers being injured. There was a heavy security operation in central Belfast on Saturday but assistant chief constable Will Kerr said: "No attempt was made to parade unlawfully into the city centre."

Northern Ireland's justice minister David Ford launched a bitter attack on Saturday on his unionist power-sharing partners. Ford told the annual Alliance party conference that thousands of leaflets alleging the Alliance was to ban the flag over City Hall were distributed across east Belfast prior to the city council's vote. This, he said, sparked the protests which led to his colleagues' homes being attacked and millions of pounds lost in trading over the past 11 weeks.